European Council President António Costa will visit all six Western Balkans partners from 1 to 5 June, meeting regional leaders ahead of co-chairing the EU–Western Balkans Summit in Tivat, Montenegro, on 5 June.
Costa is due to discuss enlargement, gradual integration, regional co-operation, security and stability during the trip, the European Council announced on Thursday.
His tour will start in Sarajevo on Monday, where he is set to meet Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Presidency members Denis Bećirović, Željka Cvijanović and Željko Komšić, as well as the Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers Borjana Kristo.
On Tuesday, Costa will be in Tirana for meetings with Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama and President Bajram Begaj, and he will also meet students at the Tirana Campus of the College of Europe — a postgraduate institution focused on European studies — before travelling to Skopje to meet Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski.
On Wednesday, he will visit Pristina to meet acting President Albulena Haxhiu, outgoing Prime Minister Albin Kurti and chairs of opposition parties.
Summit in Montenegro to follow regional meetings
On Thursday, Costa is scheduled to travel to Belgrade for meetings with Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić and Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabić, as well as civil society organisations.
The visit will then conclude in Montenegro, where President Jakov Milatović has invited regional leaders to a dinner in Tivat marking 20 years since the restoration of Montenegro’s independence.
The EU–Western Balkans Summit on 5 June will focus on “Shared prosperity and stability of the EU and the Western Balkans.”
“My second Western Balkans tour sends a clear signal: the EU’s commitment to the region is real; as real as the opportunity for enlargement,” Costa said in a statement.
